Wetlands Walk

The kids are still here!! Yesterday we went to the Wetlands.....an area of preserved wetlands and salmon enhancement. It was perfect walking weather and the kids enjoyed walking and running on the trails, identifying plants and birds and just enjoying the scenery. They kept saying "Grandma, this is SO beautiful!" And it WAS!

Pretty plants and streams to explore and learn about.

 
 

Looking out at the wetlands that make up the very tip of Hood Canal in Belfair.

A Visit!!!

My son, Corbin, is busy working on a remodel of his living room this weekend.  Can't do that with kids underfoot....SO.....I am lucky to have a 5 DAY visit at my house with my daughter-in-law Melody and my 3 grandchildren....Elliott, Norah and Simon!!

I had a great shopping trip to Goodwill last week.  This puzzle is one of the new activities I found for the kids!

Here is Norah all wrapped up in the "Story Quilt" I made when Elliott was tiny. Each square is a different story character and I have collected  books to go with each one.  Hopefully I have created a "memory" that the kids will have with this quilt.

A Bottle Trial.......

Max is learning to eat from a bottle this week.  At first the pattern (suck, swallow, breathe) was a little hard for him and he would occasionally choke and only take a few ml's.  He did MUCH better today.....he drank the whole bottle.

He is currently on the nasal cannula for 12 hours and then the C-Pap for 6 hours and then the pattern repeats.

GO MAX!!  Seems like you are determined to get HOME!!

Max is DUE!!

Today is Max's due date!! 

That is amazing since he is already 104 days old!!!  Remember when he was this tiny??  Now he is over 8 pounds! 

We used to celebrate 100 days in school by counting things.....we are just counting the days until Max is healthy enough to come home!!

Shower

Alissa's friend Amy held a very nice baby shower for Lis and Max yesterday.  It was a great party and they received lots of nice gifts.  I am so glad that Alissa got to have a couple of showers since she missed so much of having a normal pregnancy.  It is also nice for her to be able to get away from the hospital and have a fun afternoon.  Thanks Amy for doing this!!

Back to C-Pap..........

Max was on the nasal cannula FULL TIME for almost 2 days.....we were thrilled at this progress.  Then he had a couple of "blood gasses" that were too high so they put him back on the C-Pap.  For 3 days now he has been on the C-Pap 6 hours then cannula 6 hours.  Hopefully this helps and he will soon progress back to where he was.

I helped Alissa give Max a bath  yesterday.  It was fun and he seemed to like it....not much crying anyway!!  Alissa is very accomplished with her nursing tasks by now!!

9 hour cannula!

Max is on his cannula for 9 hours twice a day now.  He is just ZOOMING along.  Good breathing Max!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Mother's Day was very special this year.  It was Alissa's FIRST and we spent some special time with Max of course!!  After MAX time I got to spend the rest of the day with Alissa and had a surprise visit with Cory's family too.  I LOVE spending time with my family!!

I love this picture of Max's feet within the "heart of love" made by his parents hands.


Here are a couple of Mother's Day 3 generation pictures.......how special!!

It was so fun to hold Max......as of today he is on the cannula for 6 hours TWICE a day so that makes him easier to hold. 

Alissa and her boy!

Very nice to be able to gaze at his little face and play with him. He was quite puffy today because he is still retaining water but he weighs nearly 7 pounds!!

 
 
 



Mom and Dad doing Max's "care".  Every 3 hours he has his temperature taken, diaper changed, gets fed and a bunch of other stuff.  Alissa has been doing most of these things for 3 months now.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hi there.....I see you.  Thanks for visiting and come back soon.

Max Max Max

Max has done really well on the cannula oxygen....it is SO nice to actually be able to see his little face without all the head gear and tape.  He still has a feeding tube which is taped to his chin......but we can see MOST of his face.  He is allowed to be on the cannula for up to 6 hours a day depending on how well he tolerates it.  The rest of the day he is still on the C-Pap.  Alissa is really enjoying being able to hold him and play with him without quite so many tubes and wires to worry about.  I havent't held him without the C-Pap yet....but I am looking forward to it.  I think he is almost smiling....he, too, likes being FREE...or at least freeER!!

Max is MUCH easier to hold!!

I got to spend time snuggling and patting and drinking in the wonderfulness of Max.  He is SO MUCH easier to hold now that he is no longer on the ventilator.

Notice all the different positions we can hold him in now......very nice and very fun.  We are getting to know what kind of pats and rubs he likes when he is "not so happy".  We know very quickly when he is unhappy now because his cry has real sound to it!!

Max likes his pacifier but has a tongue thrust that pushes it right out......Alissa is teaching Max to hold it in by himself.....but sometimes she just helps him out!

Here is Max's little home.....It certainly takse a lot of equipment to monitor and keep a tiny baby safe and growing.           On the right is Max receiving his inhaler treatments.......breathe Max breathe!!

FINALLY!!  Everyone leaves me alone and I can just sleep in peace!!! 

Max and the C-Pap

Max is now off the ventilator and on a C-Pap machine. The little nosepiece is so tiny!! It really doesn't look comfortable and he doesn't like it......but it is necessary of course. Now that the only thing in his mouth is a feeding tube they are teaching him to suck on a pacifier in preparation for learning to eat. There is just SO MUCH that little guy has to learn!! Breath, suck, swallow....
He is doing good with his blood gasses and his oxygen level is set around 27%. Now they will have to wean him off the C-Pap....it is currently set at a pressure level of 6.
He has no problem gaining weight though....he is close to 6 pounds now and looks VERY VERY chubby!! I think he has at least 3 chins....like ME!! They say in the NICU their job is to fatten them up and then send them on to another unit where they might put them on a diet! Pretty funny!!
Thanks still for all the prayers.

It is SO much easier for Alissa to hold him now....she can actually move him around and play with him a bit. He cries now with SOUND! The sound is pretty hoarse from the ventilator being down his throat so long while his vocal cords were developing.

I love this picture of his little hand on his Mama's bigger one!

Here they are moving Max to the scale to see how much weight he has gained that day. It is always a LOT (though some is still the water retention)!

Max is such a helper! Here he is helping to hold the C-Pap in place!!

The speech consultant showed Alissa how to wrap him up just right so that he can hold his own pacifier in place. This is an important step toward his learning to eat.

Max says "Finally they leave me alone so I can rest and watch my fishies!"